Arborway Community Church

Perhaps you have heard a pastor say, "Once saved, always saved." It's a nice idea, but the problem is... what if you are not sure if you are saved in the first place!? If there is one thing in life we should want to be sure of, it's our eternal destination. This week Pastor Ivey launches our new series about eternal security. If you have ever doubted your faith, wondered whether you are actually a...

Easter Sunday is the biggest Sunday on the Christian calendar. Why? Because it celebrates the most important event in Christianity: The resurrection of Jesus. Now, a resurrection is a nice story, but can someone actually rise from the dead? Is this a myth made up by the followers of Jesus to promote their new religion? This week pastor Ivey explores the facts and implications for the resurrection....

You may have heard that Jesus called "The Bread of Life." This is actually a title he gave to himself. Yet he went even further than the title. He said that if we want eternal life we have to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Which if we are honest, that is a strange statement. What did he mean by it? Check out our Good Friday service as pastor Ivey unpacks this infamous, important, and profound...

As Nehemiah comes to the end of his project on Jerusalem's walls, his life does not get easier, n fact, it gets much more difficult. He faces debilitating distractions and life threatening encounters. It seems the closer he gets to finishing the work, the more intense the attacks from his enemies get. Yet, he stands strong through it all. This week we learn how to defeat distractions and stand str...

Are you facing opposition in your life right now? When God has called us to do something significant for his kingdom, there is one thing you can count on: Opposition. We have a spiritual enemy that hates us, hates those around us, and wants to tear destroy God's good work. This week pastor Ivey brings us to Nehemiah 4 so we can learn from Nehemiah how to handle obstacles and opposition.

If you follow Jesus, God has called you to something great. That great calling in our life can cause us to dream, but dreaming only gets us so far. There comes a point where we have to start the dream. We have to make it a reality. This week we see how Nehemiah begins the good work that God called him to. His methods can be a faithful template for when we need to start God's good work. Watch as Pa...

There are times in our life when God calls us to do something great for him. When we are called to do something that if he does not come through, it will never be accomplished. It can feel like moving a mountain, but when we go in the power of God to complete God's purposes, he will move the mountain. This week God does what seems impossible for Nehemiah so that he can complete what God called him...

Have you ever seen something that breaks your heart and keeps you awake at night? At some point we've all seen a disaster, suffering, or injustice that we felt in the pit of our stomach. That's what happens to Nehemiah. Nehemiah finds himself broken by the disgrace of his people, city, and family. And God puts it on his heart to solve what is wrong, but only by the Lord's leading and through his p...

In our final week of Habits of Holiness we turn to worship. Humans were created to worship. We find that if we don't worship God, we will worship something. Even atheists worship something! It's as natural as breathing. As believers, we don't need to develop a habit of worship, we need to develop a regular habit of right worship. Join us this week as Pastor Ivey shows us the foundation of worship...

The word evangelism will strike fear into the heart of the most seasoned Christian. We love Jesus, but sharing our faith is hard. Maybe we are afraid we will offend someone. Perhaps we will cause a rift in a relationships. At the same time, we know Jesus commanded us to share. We need some help! This week pastor Ivey brings us to the Scriptures to learn the habit of evangelism from Jesus. Hopefull...

Money is a big deal. In fact, it's so important, that Jesus almost talked about it as much as any other subject. Whether we like it or not, money impacts our lives a lot. Maybe you have wondered how much money God gets and how much we can keep? Do we even have to tithe? This week pastor Ivey takes us to a passage about a generous church that gave until it hurt. We will learn a better way than tith...

Do you need a break? Are you worn out? We live in a society that has made constant busyness a virtue. But we cannot go, go, go forever. Either we take a break or our bodies make us take a break. Rest is so essential to our physical wellbeing, but did you know it's also an essential habit for our spiritual wellbeing? Rest is so important that God built it into the fabric of the universe. Listen thi...

We live in a really loud world. Of course, it's physically loud, but it's also metaphorically loud. Everything wants our attention! Yet, we were designed for rhythms of quiet. God created rest into the fabric of the universe and when we look at the habits of Jesus, we notice he often retreated to be alone with his Father. This week Pastor Ivey is going to help us hear from God, not over the noise,...

Did you make a resolution this year? At some point most of us probably have. Resolutions are ok, but studies show that most people quit them after 40 days. There has to be a better way! This week, pastor Ivey proposes that habits are the better way. Good habits can change the trajectory of your life. As Christians, we have one goal in life: to know and follow Christ. If that's our goal, it makes s...

In big and small ways, we have probably experienced a time when we received something we didn't deserve on the merits and reputation of someone else. If that has ever happened to you, you know that it is a humbling experience for which you should be very grateful. This is essentially the story of our relationship with Jesus. This week, Pastor Ivey finishes the Sermon on the Mount with two final ex...

We use the word love in a lot of different ways. We love our family but we also love tacos? And we do love them, but we mean it in very different ways. Greek, on the other hand, has four different words for love. This week we look at one of the four words for love used in the Bible. We focus on the word most often used by Jesus when he described his salvation mission. On this fourth week of Advent...

What is the most joy you have ever experienced on Christmas? Maybe it was a gift you received or the company of a loved one you haven't seen in a while. Christmas can be full of joy, but not everyone sees it that way. Some just don't care about the holiday. It's December for them. Others deeply miss those they've lost this time of year. Let's admit it, Christmas can be complicated. Yet, in the mid...

Christmas is supposed to be about Jesus, peace in flesh, arriving on earth. But if you look around, things are not so peaceful. We have wars, rumors of wars, political fights, culture wars, and then all the chaos that comes with the season: Concerts, parties, presents, debt, trees, decorations... How can we have peace this season!? If you need peace this Christmas, pastor Ivey gives us two importa...

Christmas is a wonderful time of year... for some. Others are facing a really difficult time. But regardless of our current circumstances, we all need hope. This Christmas find hope not in the things of the world but in Christ. This week pastor Ivey brings us to a powerful passage in Isaiah about hope in a really dark time.

Does God hear you when we pray? Or do you feel like your prayers are just bouncing off the ceiling? This week Pastor Ivey finishes the main portion of the Sermon on the Mount by looking at how God answers our prayers.

Most of us have a lot of stuff, and much of it is just junk that piles up. If you don't think you have any junk, just move and you'll realize how much extra stuff you really have! It may surprise you to find out, Jesus has a lot to say about all our extra stuff. How we should use it, collect it, and even where we should store it. Plus he helps us understand how our misplaced desire for more stuff...

This week Pastor Ivey covers one of the most famous verses in the Bible. Even people that don't really know the Bible quote Jesus, when they say, "Do not judge." But what did Jesus mean by this teaching? Is that even his whole statement? Are we not to judge anything or anyone? If that is true, how would we ever discern who to hire, marry, or even have deep friendships with? All these questions and...

We were created to worship. The problem is we don't always worship the right way. Humans have worshiped false gods, other times we worship ourselves. And even if we worship Jesus, we can get that wrong too! If we're going to worship the God of the universe, we should want to know how to do it the right way. How should we worship? Listen this week as we learn Jesus' four secrets to worshiping God p...

This week Jesus gives us all a test, and it's a tough one. To pass this test we can't be pretty good. Getting a C or a B will not cut it. Jesus takes the bar we've set for ourselves and raises it higher than a reasonable person would. The only grade that allow us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven is perfection. If we're honest with ourselves, we know that we haven't been and can't be perfect. So what...

Very early in Jesus' most famous teaching, he says that people in his kingdom are salt and light. While this is an interesting analogy, what does it mean? Both salt and light are important for modern life, but they were even more essential for the ancient world. This week Pastor Ivey talks about the essence of being salt and light in society while also being a part of God's kingdom.